Julie

Julie turned her head slowly, tracking the rainbow that arched across the midsummer sky. The sun hung high, her bright green eyes almost sparkling in its light. A playful wind blew from the east, tussling her long brown hair and attempting fruitlessly to take the hem of her yellow summer dress with it. She leaned against her wheelbarrow, closing her eyes and breathing in deep, the scent of summer flowers drowning her nostrils. She stepped out of her sandals and felt the grass between her toes, the blades still damp from a late morning shower. Julie stayed like this a while, drowning in the beauty of the world around her, tuning out the feel of the cold metal in her hand and the broken sobs and plaintive half-sentences from the large burlap sack at her feet. A small eternity seemed to pass before she slowly lifted her arm and pulled the trigger, the burst of gunfire only momentarily destroying the serenity of this summer afternoon.